An Onomastics Delve into Politics of Nicknames in Kenya

Over the years, the Kenyan political space has changed thanks to social media, with Kenyans on X, Tiktok and other digital platforms playing a key role in shaping the country’s political discourse. One of the new traits that has emerged is the use of political nicknames. This study is an investigation on the origin and meaning of nicknames used to refer to popular politicians in Kenya. In the study, sixteen popular political leaders in Kenya from different regions were purposively sampled and a list of their political nicknames generated. Thereafter, qualitative analysis was done through questions and focused group discussions among third year students of linguistics at Kirinyaga University on what the names connotes. The study adopts the associative theory of meaning which refers to the additional, subjective associations and emotions that a word carries beyond its literal description. From the study, it was evident that the nicknames of various politicians in Kenya vary greatly from one another. They are used to identify the politicians’ characteristics focusing on their speech, behaviours, leadership traits, political choices and personal habits. These nicknames play a role in shaping politicians identity and how they are perceived by the voters. In the end, the study reveals that nicknames are significant in Kenyan political landscape, and sometimes politicians use them to endear themselves to voters while the electorates quite often use the same to deride and characterize them.